


We Have Each Other

by trashpup



Series: 911, What's Your Emergency? [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Adoption, Amputation, Amputee Evan "Buck" Buckley, Crossover, Emetophobia, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Injured Evan "Buck" Buckley, Light Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Teacher AU, uhm yeah sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23146003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashpup/pseuds/trashpup
Summary: How much can Buck lose and what will he gain in return?Buck thinks his life is over after losing his leg in the firetruck accident, but he gets a job interview and that leads to so much more.(ft. characters from 911: Lone Star - because i can. and i just wanted Anxious Rambling™ lmao)
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: 911, What's Your Emergency? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663795
Comments: 8
Kudos: 251





	We Have Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> so, i hope you guys like this! i worked very hard on it.  
> i might make a short second part about it, idk yet...

For the third time that night Buck woke up in a cold sweat, tears streaming down his face. Loud sobs and heavy, stuttered breaths woke Eddie up as well, asking if everything was alright. Buck managed to mumble out a response and jolted out of bed, grabbing his crutches and rushing into the bathroom as quickly as he could before Eddie could ask anymore questions. 

Buck went from leaning against the door, taking shaky breaths, to kneeling over the toilet, dry heaving for the second time that night. His nightmares were getting worse instead of better, he was making Eddie lose sleep because of it, and he felt awful about it. He raised a trembling arm to flush the toilet with what little content he managed to heave up. Quickly, he washed out his mouth and his hands before going back to join Eddie in bed. 

Eddie was fast asleep, having stayed awake with Buck until he fell asleep after his previous nightmare. He was tired, so Buck decided that the only sensible thing to do would be sleeping on their couch in the living room, far away from his exhausted fiancé. He tossed and turned all night, desperately trying to fall asleep again and failing miserably. 

Some time near six in the morning, when Eddie’s first alarm went off, Buck had managed to close his eyes and rest for a few minutes before he heard Eddie’s worried shouts.

“Buck?” Eddie’s voice was gruff and scratchy from sleep, Buck loved Eddie’s morning voice, but right now, Buck just wanted to crawl under the futon and sleep for a few weeks. “Buck, where the hell are you?” Eddie was frantically running around the apartment, opening every door, searching for Buck. 

Buck let out a moan, covering himself up with the blanket he dragged out from the bedroom. It barely covered his whole body, so he curled himself up in a ball and covered himself so maybe Eddie would give up and stop looking for him. He did not give up. If anything, he just got even more scared, thinking Buck had disappeared in the middle of the night. 

Eddie was near tears by the time he flung the blanket off Buck’s body, revealing the younger man with his eyes clamped shut, his body curled into a ball. Buck felt around for the blanket that Eddie had completely stolen from his body and it was nowhere to be found. 

“You can’t fucking do that, Evan! I was fucking scared, I woke up and you weren’t there! You didn’t respond when I called for you, fuck you,” Eddie sobbed, collapsing down next to Buck, sobbing into Buck’s lap. 

“I-I’m sorry, Eddie, I couldn’t let you lose anymore sleep because of me, so I came out here and - and I’m sorry,” Buck’s eyes welled up with tears that he quickly wiped away before Eddie could see. He’d been struggling a lot, between the accident and losing his leg, then having to quit his job at the 118, and then all the nightmares and waking up, clawing at his own skin. It was a lot.

Eddie sat up, wiping off his own face and looking at Buck. He cupped Buck’s cheeks and pressed a kiss to his lips. Buck seemed to melt into Eddie’s touch, attempting to move closer. Eddie noticed and filled the empty space between them. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes, right up until Eddie caught the sound of his second alarm going off. Eddie jumped up and ran into the bedroom, leaving Buck in the living room, sitting by himself, staring at his crutches.

**_THE HOSPITAL: TWO DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT_ **

_“Hello, Mr. Buckley, good to see you awake. We have some things to discuss,” the doctor had a smile on her face as she looked over Buck’s medical records. Eddie sat in the chair next to Buck’s bed, gripping his hand as if he was more nervous than Buck was._

_“W-What’s going on?” Buck looked from the doctor to Eddie, then back to the doctor. “Can we get the pain in my legs under control, first?” Buck winced in pain and moved his arm down to grip his leg, not feeling anything. Eddie shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to look at Buck at the moment, he didn’t want to see the moment that Buck figured out his leg was gone._

**BUCK & EDDIE’S HOME: PRESENT DAY**

Buck let a tear fall onto his lap, he moved his hand down to where his knee was supposed to be and then burst into tears, letting them stream down his cheeks, dripping onto his lap. He sniffed and ran the back of his hand across his nose, hearing Eddie walk out of the bedroom. 

“Hey, Buck, I gotta run. Cap called me in early, you gonna be okay to get to your appointment by yourself?” Eddie was buttoning up his shirt, tucking it in and grabbing his wallet, phone, and keys. He looked up at Buck, who refused to look at Eddie.  
Eddie walked over to the couch and kneeled in front of Buck, forcing him to make eye contact. 

“I’ll be alright, go, Cap needs you. Love you,” Buck gave Eddie a quick kiss before shooing him towards the door. Eddie went without a fuss, looking back at Buck, still sitting on the couch, his crutches sat nearby. 

**STATION 118**

“I’m worried about him, Hen, his nightmares are getting worse, like I don’t think he slept at all last night. I was up with him and I thought he was finally able to sleep peacefully, but it turns out, he was on the couch so he wouldn’t wake me up again. He was literally up vomiting half the night. He has a doctor's appointment in a bit, and then he said he’s got a potential job interview, but didn’t tell me what for. He says that he’s good to drive because - and I quote - ‘I lost my left leg and I use my right leg for the pedals,’” Eddie shook his head, unable to stop thinking about his fiancé. He was worried, he didn’t want to worry about Buck so much, but Buck was struggling and he knew it. 

Buck hated letting people help him, which was why he was so adamant on going to his appointments by himself. He knew he could, plus Eddie had work and there was no way he was going to ask Maddie. Of course he should’ve just asked Maddie, but he had to prove to himself that he could do this. It was his final check-up with his doctor, this was the appointment where they talked about fitting him for a prosthetic leg. 

Eddie knew this, so every chance he got he would be texting Buck, asking how everything was going. Buck gave short answers, telling him that everything was going well, and that the doctors think that he’d be a good candidate for a prosthesis. 

**TEXT FROM: BUCK -** _ugh, idk what to do. i’m just gonna tell them i want to think about it._

 **TEXT FROM: EDDIE -** _that’s fine, babe, are you doing alright? need anything from me?_

 **TEXT FROM: BUCK -** _uh, just for you to come cuddle me when i get home. i still have my job interview. i’m so nervous_

 **TEXT FROM: EDDIE -** _you got this, baby. we’re all cheering you on!_  
**ATTACHMENT: ONE IMAGE: FROM: EDDIE**

 **TEXT FROM: BUCK -** _aww, tell hen and chim that i miss them_

**TEXT FROM: EDDIE -** _Hen says to text her yourself._  
**TEXT FROM: EDDIE -** _shit, gtg, alarm went off. much love, babe. good luck!_

 **TEXT FROM: BUCK -** _love you too. be safe!_

**BUCK’S CAR: BEFORE THE INTERVIEW**

Buck slid his phone into his pocket, turning the key in the ignition of his car, letting his head hit the steering wheel. He was extremely nervous for his job interview, and of course he was qualified for the job, but he feared that they’d turn him away because of his health. 

He drove to his interview in silence, taking in all his surroundings. He sat in his car, trying to steady his breathing and when the clock read half past ten, he made his way inside. 

Once inside, he checked in with the receptionist then sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs and waited until he was called back for his interview. They gave him a weird time, so just to be safe, he arrived ten minutes ahead of time. 

“Evan Buckley?” 

It was a woman’s voice, so Buck sighed in relief, he hated when men interviewed him, it always seemed like they were sizing him up and trying to be dominant over him. With women, they seemed to just do their jobs and get it over with. 

Buck lifted his hand in a half wave and stood up, gripping his crutches while he steadied himself. He swore under his breath when he dropped one of the crutches, awkwardly bending down and picking it up. He looked up at the woman that called his name and gave her an awkward half-smile, looking apologetic. 

Once he managed to get into the room without any other issues, he stood behind a chair, unsure if she wanted him to sit down or not. She gestured to the chair Buck was leaning on for support, telling him to sit and get comfortable. 

“Thank you so much for coming for an interview on such short notice, if you don’t mind, we can get right into the interview portion!” the woman spoke with a smile, sorting through her papers as she talked, not necessarily making eye contact with Buck, which he was thankful for. 

“Of course! I’m ready whenever you are!” Buck gave her a smile, trying to hide his obvious nervousness as she set all her papers down and took out a pen, clicking it open. 

“What happened with your previous job? It says on your résumé that you were a firefighter; what happened with that job?” the woman looked at Buck, not connecting the dots to his lack of a job and lack of a leg.

“On a call, I got caught under the fire truck and my legs got crushed, and as a result I lost one of my legs, the doctors said I was extremely lucky to only lose one and not both. Due to the fact that I only have one leg, I had to resign from my position as a firefighter,” Buck let the smile fall from his face. He hated that he wasn’t a firefighter anymore, but this was the second best thing for him. 

“That’s horrible, I’m glad you’re alright, physically. I can’t imagine the emotional and mental toll that’s had on you,” she sounded sincere, but Buck didn’t want to comment any further on it. “So, my next question is kind of obvious, but, why have you gone from firefighter to teaching?” 

**STATION 118: AFTER BUCK’S INTERVIEW**

Eddie managed to text Buck seventeen times while he was in his interview, all wishing him good luck and telling him that he thinks he’ll ace the interview and get the job. Buck responded to the eighteenth message with a phone call, and luckily Eddie wasn’t out on call. 

_“Eddie, I swear, seventeen messages while I’m interviewed for thirty-five minutes, and here I thought I was the clingy one,”_ Buck rolled his eyes, grateful that Eddie wasn’t able to see him. Eddie huffed in response, pretending like he didn’t notice that he sent seventeen messages.

“How’d it go?” Eddie asked, ignoring Buck’s taunts. Buck let out a groan through the speaker, making Eddie laugh. “I’m sure you aced it, babe! They won’t be able to resist you. Also, when am I allowed to know what you interviewed for?” 

_“When I know for certain whether or not I got the job,”_ Buck responded, giving Eddie another eye roll. _“Also, the doctor needs to know whether or not I want the prosthetic leg by the end of the week, which is great news considering the fact that it’s Thursday!”_ Buck groaned again. Seriously, he had just seen the man that morning and he’s already demanding answers.

“Well, I think you should do it, even if you don’t want to wear it every single day, you’d still have it if you wanted it. Plus, you don’t have to worry about paying for it. The city is paying for it since you got injured while at work,” Eddie explained. He set his phone down on the table, putting Buck on speakerphone. “Buck, you’re on speakerphone, behave.” 

_“Babe, no, this is a serious conversation! I’m really struggling here, help,”_ Buck whined, throwing a miniature tantrum. He didn’t want other people snooping on their phone call. 

“Hi Buck,” Hen and Chimney both called out at the same time. Buck let out a groan, thinking he made a mistake in calling Eddie. Hen and Chimney heard the groan and laughed at the younger man.

 _“Hi guys,”_ he grumbled through the phone, getting three sets of laughter in return. He groaned, but was ultimately thankful that it was just Chimney and Hen and Bobby wasn’t there as well. 

“Seriously Buck, I think you should get it, that way it’s there if you want it, but no one will force you to put it on in the morning,” Eddie said. There was a mechanical whirring and then silence. Buck was deep in thought while Eddie, Hen, and Chimney all worked.

 _“I’ll think about it,”_ Buck hung up the phone, letting out yet another groan. He hated this. But, he had to admit, Eddie had a point. Even if he didn’t want to wear the prosthetic every day, it would still be an option. 

He sent Eddie a quick text before driving home, this time with the radio blaring loudly. He was welcomed home with complete silence, which allowed him to hobble to the bedroom and pass out, face down in the sheets. 

**BUCK & EDDIE’S HOME**

“Buck?” Eddie’s voice rang throughout the bedroom, jolting Buck awake. He shot up in bed, blinking away the sleepiness. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Eddie, giving him a small smile. 

“Hey, Eddie, how was work?” Buck swung his leg over the side of the bed, reaching for his crutches with one hand, keeping himself steady with his other. Eddie walked around to Buck’s side of the bed, pushing Buck back down onto the bed and kissing him roughly. 

“It was shit. I missed you so much, it’s not the same without you,” Eddie pulled back, peppering small kisses down Buck’s neck and collarbones. Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck and let Eddie pull him up off the bed. 

“I missed you, too, babe. Grab my crutches, let’s go watch a movie or something,” Buck mumbled, more to himself than to Eddie, but Eddie still heard him. 

“Do you want me to carry you or do you want to walk?” Eddie asked, still kissing Buck’s neck and cheeks. Buck mumbled something against Eddie’s shoulder, wrapping himself tighter around his fiancé. “I’ll take that as a sign that you’re not walking, then.”

Eddie laughed and headed out towards the living room, trying to place Buck down on the futon, but Buck didn’t let go, he latched onto Eddie’s shirt, pulling him down on top of his chest. Eddie repositioned himself so he wasn’t putting his full weight on top of Buck. 

“This can’t be comfortable, Buck, let me get up and you can lay on top of me, alright?” Eddie rubbed Buck’s arms and moved off of him. Buck sat up and slowly stood up, trying to balance himself up on one leg before falling back down onto Eddie. 

**BUCK & EDDIE’S HOME: THE NEXT MORNING**

Buck and Eddie fell asleep on the couch, having not moved to their bedroom that night. They were woken up the next morning by Buck’s phone ringing loudly. Buck startled at the sound of his phone ringing, he fumbled around, still laying on top of Eddie. He managed to press _accept_ and bring his phone up to his ear.

“Hello?” Buck’s voice was scratchy, a little bit dry, having just woken up. Eddie stirred underneath Buck, trying to move them both into a sitting position. 

_“Hello, is this Evan Buckley?”_ the woman’s voice sounded familiar, but Buck couldn’t place where he’d heard it before. 

“Uh, yes, this is him. May I ask what this is about?” Buck grabbed ahold of Eddie’s hand, gripping on tightly. Eddie raised an eyebrow, questioning the phone call, unable to hear the person on the other end of the line.

 _“Good morning, this is Elysian Heights Elementary School, we were calling regarding your interview,”_ the woman explained. She continued, _“we’d like to offer you a full-time position starting in one week, along with the start of the school year. Is that something you’d be interested in?”_

“Oh, oh my gosh, yes! I would love that, thank you so much!” Buck gushed, squeezing Eddie’s hand as he spoke. 

_“Amazing, you were our top candidate, you were the most qualified and you gave extremely thorough answers during your interview. If you are available later today, we’d love to show you your classroom and let you start setting things up, if you’d like?”_ the woman on the phone sounded almost as giddy as Buck did, which made him even happier. 

“I would like that very much, thank you so much for this opportunity,” Buck replied.  
They said goodbye and Buck hung up the phone and grabbed Eddie’s face, kissing him roughly. He pulled away, breathless, grinning wildly at his boyfriend before letting out a scream of excitement.

“Buck? What’s going on?” Eddie asked, not as worried after seeing the grin on Buck’s face. Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist and squeezed. 

“I got the job, they want me to start in a week!” Buck was giddy, he was almost as happy as he was when he got the job at the 118. Eddie allowed himself to be happy for Buck, of course he knew that Buck was never going to be able to get his job at the fire station back due to his injury, but he was still disappointed that Buck was getting a different job. 

“I’m so proud of you, babe, I knew you would blow them away. Now, since you got the job, am I allowed to know what you interviewed for?” Eddie kissed his cheek, watching the blush rise on Buck’s cheeks. Buck allowed Eddie to hold him close to his chest, listening to his heart beat. 

“I interviewed for a teaching position at Elysian Heights Elementary School as a third grade teacher, and I’ll also be helping out with the special education program. I’m so excited, Eds. They want to show me my classroom later today and they’ll let me start getting it ready, too,” Buck had a grin on his face when he looked up at Eddie. Eddie ruffled Buck’s hair and helped Buck stand up and grab his crutches. 

“That’s so fucking awesome, I can’t wait to see what you do with those kids. Let’s get you showered and presentable; your hair is a mess and I think that might be dried drool on your chin,” Eddie laughed as Buck rolled his eyes and let Eddie undress him and start the shower. Eddie got in first and awkwardly helped Buck in before allowing him to lean on him. 

**ELYSIAN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL**

“Hello Mr. Buckley, it’s good to see you again. And, who might this be?” Buck blushed and smiled at Eddie. 

“This is my fiancé, Eddie. He’s a firefighter at the LAFD at station 118,” Buck introduced Eddie, his fingers twitching as he spoke, unsure if he could hold Eddie’s hand right now. Eddie noticed and discreetly nudged Buck’s hand with his own, holding his hand out to show Buck that he wanted to hold hands. 

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Eddie, I’m Principal Blake - you can just call me Michelle,” Michelle gave the men a warm smile before beckoning them to follow her down a hall. Buck gave Eddie’s hand a squeeze before letting go and grabbing onto his crutches and following Michelle, who had started talking about the other third grade teachers. 

“Across the hall from you will be Mr. Reyes, Ms. Marwani, and Mr. Ryder, who teaches our advanced class. To your left will be Mr. Strand and to your right will be Mr. Strickland. Mr. Reyes and Mr. Strand are both fairly new, they started during last semester along with the music teacher, Mr. Chavez,” Michelle rattled off names, much to Buck’s displeasure. He tried to nod his head and keep up but forgot everyone as she continued speaking. Eddie noticed Buck’s increasing discomfort and found a polite way to interrupt her with a sneeze. She turned to Eddie and gave him a small smile and a “bless you” before turning back to Buck and continuing.

“We do have a lot of students, which is why we’re hiring new teachers. There are a lot of people who live around here so we have a stream of students that are on a waiting list. We just renovated the school with all new tech and added ten new classrooms,” Michelle’s nervous rambling made Buck’s heart race, he tried to focus on the classrooms they passed by. He saw unfamiliar names and then ones that Michelle had mentioned. He saw Mr. Strand and then an empty classroom with desks in neat little rows. 

“Is this mine?” Buck stopped in his tracks, his mouth agape. Michelle nodded, giving Buck a small smile. Eddie could see the gears turning in Buck’s head as he planned out how he wanted his room to look. He gave Buck a small nudge, telling him to go in. 

**ONE DAY BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL**

A week went by with Buck going to the elementary school every morning to set up his room. He had met a couple of the teachers accidentally. He met Mr. Strand and Mr. Reyes after parking his car next to theirs and looking over to see one man straddling the other in the passenger seat. 

“Oh shit,” Buck ducked his head down, hoping they didn’t see him and in the process hitting it against the center of the steering wheel, hearing it let out a small honk. He felt his face flush hot as he winced, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see the two men staring into his car. “Oh, fuck me.” 

Both men had straightened themselves out and were leaning against their car, staring into Buck’s car with matching grins. So, when Buck thought it was safe to sit up, he was met with two sets of eyes staring at him. The taller of the two beckoned him out while the smaller leaned into the other, still wearing a shit-eating grin, his shirt buttons still messed up. Buck grabbed his crutches and opened his car door. 

“Well, enjoy the show?” the younger man laughed, giving Buck a lopsided grin. Buck’s face turned beet red as he stared at the ground, stuttering out an apology. “Dude, it’s fine. You’re Evan, right?” 

“Uh, yeah, you guys can call me Buck, though, no one ever really calls me Evan unless it’s my fiancé and I’m in trouble,” Buck rubbed the back of his neck, letting his crutch hang from the forearm cuff. 

“Well, Buck, I’m Mr. Reyes to the kids, but Carlos to everyone else and this is T.K., or Mr. Strand,” Carlos reached out to shake Buck’s hand while T.K. grinned up at Carlos, muttering against Carlos’ back. 

**BUCK’S FIRST DAY**

“Are you excited, babe?” Eddie rubbed Buck’s bare shoulders as he picked out his outfit for his very first day of teaching third grade. Buck leaned back into Eddie’s hands and let Eddie hold onto him for a moment. 

“I’m excited, but I’m also nervous. I don’t want to say anything wrong and scare the kids, but like, I want to educate them - not just with academia, but with everything,” Buck let out a breath, sinking back even farther into Eddie.

The pair stayed in place, Eddie murmuring affirmations into Buck’s hair as Buck unloaded all his anxieties. The school had given him a week to set up his classroom and get his syllabus ready, which just stressed him out even more. Buck was excited, of course he was excited, but he didn’t want to fuck it up. Having Eddie helped him a lot, Eddie helped Buck with his insecurities more than a therapist ever did and Buck would do anything to repay Eddie. They both know that.

They both finished getting ready for their respective jobs; Eddie sporting his work pants and a LAFD t-shirt, while Buck chose a quarter button up tucked into a pair of khaki shorts. He looked at himself in the mirror, trying to tell himself that everything was going to be fine.

“We have each other, Evan, I’ve always got your back. I’m here whenever you need me,” Eddie stood behind Buck, wrapping his arms around Buck’s waist, kissing his shoulders. Buck twisted in Eddie’s grip, trying to turn to face him.

“And I have your back,” Buck managed to spin around to face Eddie, planting his lips on Eddie’s before pulling away and gripping his crutches. “Now, let’s go, I want to get stuff set out for the kids. Let’s go,” Buck poked Eddie with one of his crutches and laughed as Eddie feigned injury for a moment before dashing off to the kitchen and out of Buck’s line of sight. 

Buck carefully made his way down the hall, seeing Eddie waiting at the table, a handmade banner hanging above the door frame and four cupcakes that spelled out “BUCK.” He gave Eddie a toothy grin before moving over to him and clumsily wrapped his arms around Eddie, squeezing him tightly. 

**ELYSIAN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: DAY ONE**

“Good morning everyone, I’m Mr. Buckley, but just between us, you can call me Buck! Does anyone have any questions before we go around and introduce ourselves?” Buck stood in front of the whiteboard where he had written his name. A few kids raised their hands to ask questions. Buck pointed at one of the little girls so she could ask her question. 

“What happened to your leg?” Buck sucked in a breath, then looked around the room at a bunch of curious third graders, all wondering the same thing. 

“Well, I was a firefighter with station 118 and during a call, the fire truck tipped over and crushed my leg. I had to leave my job at the 118 and I got the job here and now I get to teach you guys! Now, enough about me, let’s go around the room and tell everyone a bit about ourselves, how does that sound?” Buck smiled at the bright faces in his classroom, hearing a couple of kids cheer quietly. 

**STATION 118: SUNDAY NIGHT**

“So, how was your first week?” Bobby asked during the 118 family dinner. Buck had a mouthful of salad when Bobby asked, but it didn’t stop him from trying to talk through it. Eddie elbowed Buck in the side and discreetly told him to finish eating before talking.

“It was awesome! All my students are amazing and three days a week I get to work with the special education program, and there’s a student that’s got CP and he’s just the ball of sunshine even though he’s a foster kid. Seriously, Cap, the kid is incredible and I’ve literally only known him for a week but I want to protect him. Is this what being a dad feels like?” Buck rambled on, slipping and calling Bobby “Cap” out of habit, but not noticing because he was so excited to talk about his new job. 

No one in the 118 thought that Buck would love children, but it turned out that Buck was the perfect person to be teaching children. He understood them, understood how they thought and that they needed breaks throughout the day instead of once or twice. He understood that they all learned at different speeds and he didn’t expect too much of anyone, and he made sure that he praised the kids as often as he possibly could. 

“We’re glad you love your new job, Buck, but don’t you go lovin’ those kids more than us? You had us first and you can’t get rid of us now,” Hen ruffled Buck’s hair as he shovelled another mouthful of salad into his mouth, smiling around his fork, his face hot.

 **FOUR MONTHS LATER**

“Eddie, can we talk for a second?” Buck was still sitting in bed, not dressed for work. He was cracking his fingers - a nervous habit that he kicked himself for having. Eddie looked at Buck through the mirror, his eyebrows scrunched together, worried.

“Of course, what’s going on, Evan? Are you alright?” Eddie turned around and joined Buck back on the bed, taking hold of one of Buck’s hands, squeezing lightly. Buck looks at Eddie, he’s nearly in tears and thoughts are racing through Eddie’s mind, all ending with _he doesn’t love me anymore._

“I want to adopt Christopher,” Buck’s bottom lip quivered and tears threatened to spill as he tried to read Eddie’s face for a sign.

Christopher was the student Buck had with CP, the foster kid that still didn’t have a family to go home to at night. Buck had bonded with Christopher almost instantly, wanting to protect him from the world and wanting to show him that he could be independent. Buck talked about Christopher all the time, he talked about the progress Christopher made in his academics as well as in physical therapy. The kid was truly a light in Buck’s life. Eddie felt like he knew Christopher just from the sheer amount of things Buck had said about him. 

“Eddie, please say something,” Buck whispered. Tears spilling down his cheeks, falling onto the sheets. “Eds, please, we don’t have to do it, I just thoug-”

“When can we go meet him?” Eddie interrupted. Buck sniffled and wiped his eyes dry with the backs of his hands. He stared at Eddie with wide eyes that seemed to glimmer.

“I’ll see him first thing when I go in today, I can talk to his caretaker that brings him in and set something up!” Buck had moved his hands to hold onto Eddie’s own. Buck’s were still shaking, so Eddie squeezed them, letting Buck know that everything was okay. 

“We have each other, Evan, and we’re going to have Christopher too. I love you so much, you’re going to be a great father.”


End file.
